Billabong posts first full-year profit in four years

Billabong has recorded its first full-year profit since 2011, leading to a jump in share price.

The Australian surfwear retailer made a net profit of $4.15m for the year ending June 30, compared with last year’s $233.7m loss. Shares were 3.5 cents higher at 66.5 cents in early trading on Thursday.

Revenue rose 2.8% to $1.06bn, while underlying earnings grew for the first time since 2008.

Chief executive Neil Fiske said Billabong was two years into a major turnaround in which it has shed loss-making businesses and seen sales rise in the US and Europe. The company grew sales by 13.1% in the US wholesale market during the year.

He said: “While this remains a complex, challenging turnaround in an uncertain economic environment, on balance more things are working for us than against us.”

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